In Memory
by Jedi Honor Bound Ninja
Summary: Jiraiya has left more than just Naruto behind. There are others who will remember his legacy.


Okay...so my first step into Naruto fandom. This came about after seeing Shippuden Episode 35 and a few panels in the Manga Chapter 406 (or was it 405....hmmm). Just an observation that perhaps Jiraiya and Kakashi knew each other a little better than is ever really let on and it's basically fluff.. Enjoy!

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Kakashi watched as Naruto stormed out of the Hokage's office, a dismissive wave of his hand and a colorful comment to boot. Sakura was protesting and he half expected Tsunade-sama to join her but the older woman merely looked away and let him go. She understood the reaction.

Sadly so did Kakashi.

Part of him wanted to mimic the blonde's actions and go off as well, but there was that troublesome code Jiraiya had left behind…not to mention he rather liked the idea of not coming into contact with a pissed off and mourning Tsunade.

He imagined it would hurt quite a bit.

So instead he apologized to Fukasaku whom Naruto had just blown off and went back to listening dutifully to the details of the battle that had taken the Sannin's life. Inwardly, however, he really didn't want to know those details, especially in such detail. But he could hazard that every little twitch mattered in puzzling together what it was Jiraiya was trying to say in his numbered code, etched into the back of the head frog.

When all was said and done, he was finally dismissed and he took the opportunity immediately, exiting through the window.

Death was something all too familiar to many ninja. That was their world and their job, death and more death. Kakashi was well aware of this and had come to be the best at dealing said death out, and almost tauntingly good at dodging it at the same time.

And yet, he had reacted badly, not outwardly, to the news of Jiraiya's death.

He had known the white-haired Sannin since he was 4 years old after all.

"_What the hell is a kid your age practicing that for?" _

_Kakashi whirled around and found a tall man with long, white hair and a Leaf Nin's vest on, his arms crossed in front of him and a gleam in his eyes as he looked down on him. The man was physically imposing but it did not stop Kakashi from straightening up, tightening his grip on his kunai, and responding. _

"_Because I'm supposed to be practicing." _

"_Sure you are, Kid." The white-haired man snickered and was about to go on but they were interrupted by his father, Sakumo. _

"_Jiraiya-sama! When did you return?" _

_Sakumo, who Kakashi was more used to seeing in a calm, collected state was coming up and clamping the man on the back and smiling broadly at him. The other man was smiling like a mad man and chuckling in response. _

"_Today. I was hoping you were around here." He winked at his father. "Was hoping for some company." _

"_Honestly Jiraiya, do you really want to face Tsunade's wrath again? The last time she caught us I couldn't move for a week." _

"_Eh, Hime is out of the village. It is the perfect opportunity for research." _

_Sakumo took a quick glance at Kakashi, a blush spreading across his face as he scratched at his hair. "I dunno, Jiraiya-sama…."_

"_And what's with this 'sama' business?" Jiraiya slapped Sakumo in the shoulder and laughed. "All this seriousness and formality is making me thirsty." _

_Kakashi was slowly coming to the idea that the man was one of the Sannin of the village…the legendary three. He had no idea his father knew them but it would appear that he did as the two bantered and talked as if he wasn't even there._

_Which was fine, he turned back to his target and his training…_

"_By the way," A hand clamped on his shoulder and Kakashi froze. "What's with the runt training all by himself?"_

"_He's a Genin now, he can handle himself." Sakumo seemed to puff up proudly and winked at his son from behind the Sannin. Kakashi returned his gaze back up to the white-haired man who was now blinking at him in disbelief. _

"_Oh I see you're the runt the whole village is talking about. Hatake Kakashi, the youngest graduate from the Academy."_

"_Hai. That's him." Sakumo nodded and crossed his arms. _

"_Leave it to you Sakumo, to breed a perfect little clone!" _

Kakashi had learned quickly that Jiraiya and his father had been drinking buddies for a long time. Whenever the Sannin was back in the village, he'd be at the Hatake home, sharing war stories with Sakumo, and Sakumo doing the same with Jiraiya. He'd sit quietly down the hall and listen to the two men laughing and drinking.

When he had been eventually assigned to Namikaze Minato, he highly suspected that Jiraiya had some doing with it, seeing as Minato had been his student. After adapting to the more open Jonin, Kakashi had been glad to be taught by Konoha's Yellow Flash.

Of course it was a year later when Kakashi saw the Sannin again…

_Kakashi sat with his legs dangling over the side of the wood path around his house. He stared blankly at the ground, while the sounds of the ninja inside drifted in and out of his consciousness. All he could really see was red, blood red, and the way it was able to dye the normally silver-colored ponytail his father wore. _

"_Damn it you idiots!" a new voice filtered through his awareness. "The Kid…Sakumo had a kid. Where the hell is he?" _

_He never heard the reply to the angry outburst, just the sound of footsteps and doors opening. Finally they got close enough to him that it caused him to look up and found himself, once again, staring up at the physically imposing man with stark, white hair. _

_For a second they just stared at one another. Kakashi not really sure why he couldn't tear his gaze away and Jiraiya looking more and more like he was upset, not angry. Finally though the Sannin leaned down and gently, Kakashi remembered that specifically, picked him up and balanced his then-five-year-old-self in one arm. _

"_Come on Kid. This isn't the place for you." _

_As they walked back through the house, Jiraiya kept clear of the room that Kakashi was certain his father lay in, and back towards the front door. He began to hear a familiar voice, chewing out those sent to investigate the trouble. _

"_The child is 5 years old and you let him stand and watch…"_

"_He eventually wandered off. He's a Chuunin…"_

"_I don't care what rank he is!" As they approached Kakashi could see Minato, verbally assaulting the lead of the medical team. "He's just a kid. That's his father for…" _

_Jiraiya merely passed by them both in a brisk pace and barked back to the Jonin. "Come on Minato." _

_Even though Minato looked about to protest, he fell in step behind the Sannin and the three of them exited onto the street, which already had spectators out peeping and craning their necks for a look at what was happening. _

"_Kakashi?" Kakashi could hear them, he just didn't want to make the effort to respond or fight them. "Is he alright?" _

_He just allowed the Sannin to carry him through the village, like a child, while his own sensei followed behind like a dutiful little Genin after Jiraiya. _

"_He's in shock most likely." Jiraiya sighed heavily. "Just leave him be for now, he'll snap outta it." _

"_What about Tsunade?" _

"_She can't do anything about this." The tone in the man's voice made Kakashi momentarily look up at his face and he saw the set, determined look in his eyes….and how the man avoided looking at Kakashi at all._

After that Kakashi had begun to notice that a lot of people avoided looking at him. As he walked through the village, or went on patrols, the reaction was always the same. People either looked at him with an overwhelming look of pity or they looked at him like he was some kind of disease. Sakumo's act had branded him just as sorely as it had tainted his death and Kakashi began to feel suffocated under the gazes.

But some days, he found, he had a shadow. Jiraiya would follow him around, to and from training, out on patrols the Sannin would position himself at a certain point and call out to him each time he passed, and at night he'd be at Kakashi's home, silently drinking at the kitchen table and watching Kakashi with a hawk's determined gaze.

At first it had annoyed the hell out of Kakashi, and several times he had lashed out at the older man. Jiraiya patiently just let him yell at him and then smirked as Kakashi threw up his hands in frustration and let him do as he pleased. Kakashi tried his best to ignore him, to drive him off, but Jiraiya just stuck around.

Then Kakashi realized what it was the Sannin had been doing. Everyone who had been looking down at him before with scowls and insults were now more respectful. They didn't try to lump him in with what his father had done. They began to speak favorably about him and his connection with both the Yellow Flash and Legendary Sannin… he had to be different than his father.

He was the genius again, not Sakumo's kid.

Kakashi landed on a rooftop, frowning at how easily people could be swayed by such trivial things such as reputation and worth. Jiraiya had stuck around long enough to sway the village from thinking badly of him just because of what Sakumo had done. Then he was gone again, back to his old routine.

He smiled to himself knowing the locations of some of the favorite spots of the Sannin's. Every so often he'd pop up around the village, never really announcing himself. Kakashi and Minato would be roped into his wild ideas of a vacation, or were peeling the white-haired toad summoner off of whatever building he got plastered into for ticking of Tsunade-sama. He'd started Kakashi down the perverted road with copies of his books, which he explained Kakashi had to stand in as reviewer since Sakumo wasn't around anymore.

Sometimes Kakashi wondered if Jiraiya got him and Sakumo confused. He lacked the ponytail his father always wore, like Jiraiya wore, but he did look just like his father, no matter how much he tried to hide it. They would have little talks, little meaningless talks. Sometimes Minato was involved and sometimes he wasn't. Of course as Minato's appointment to Hokage came closer and Kakashi was tapped into the ANBU, Jiraiya strayed away from the village for longer periods of time.

Then it happened.

"_I can't believe you want to put a newborn to the knife because you think he's a damn demon!"_

_Kakashi mutely stood behind Jiraiya, as he yelled at a few of the higher-ups that had joined together to decide the fate of Minato-sensei's son. He would steal glances from behind his dog mask at the Third Hokage, called up out of retirement after last night's turn of events. The old man was silently puffing on his pipe, watching Jiraiya go full force at the council and the elders of Konoha._

_It was odd that it was only Jiraiya defending the child. _

"_You're all damn fucking idiots, every single one of you. Minato sacrificed his life to save this village, the least you could do is not taint that sacrifice by spilling a child's blood." _

"_That child has the 9-tailed fox…"_

"_SEALED. It's sealed. You doubt that it will hold?" _

"_We…"_

"_Then you doubt your former Hokage and you doubted him well before this." Jiraiya was standing now, that imposing stance of his returning. Kakashi smirked a little behind his mask as he did. Jiraiya-sama was normally a laid back, accepting man. But if you happened to make him angry, you were in for a lot of trouble. "Do you doubt the decision of the Sandaime as well? Hell while we're at it, you doubt all the ninja of this village?" _

"_That is not what we are implying Jiraiya-sama. It is just practical to kill it while the demon is still contained. The child's life would mean absolutely no chance of the demon coming free." _

"_Like hell…" Jiraiya was growling and rolling up a sleeve as he began to stalk towards the damned Uchiha and ROOT congregations. _

"_If I may," Kakashi spoke up and Jiraiya whipped around to eye him. He recognized the glare shooting from the older man but ignored it; Jiraiya was too emotionally involved now. "The seal is newly placed, if you kill the boy the most likely outcome is the fox will be released. The Seal only works because of the child's chakra containing it. Remove his chakra and the seal will loosen. If that happens now before the seal has had a chance to integrate the fox's chakra with the child's then the effect would be the Fox's escape…not its death." _

_Jiraiya's posture had loosened and straightened during his little speech, but the look he now shot his way was one more grateful. Jiraiya crossed his arms and smugly smirked at the council and elders before them. Even the Third got an odd smirk, around his pipe, as he cleared his throat. _

"_I believe Dog is correct. The way the seal is created, killing the boy would mean the Fox's release. Then who would we throw to the wolves? You Koharu? You Homura?" He then transfixed the Uchiha's. "Or shall we sacrifice your child next Fugaku?" _

_That seemed to strike a cord with many in the room. Who would be willing to offer up their child if the fox came loose because of their actions? No one, so they begrudgingly agreed to the Sandaime's request and they left the meeting hall with meaningful glances towards Jiraiya and the ANBU sentry that had opened his mouth. Jiraiya continued to stand tall, glaring daggers at anyone who meant to look his way, and Kakashi, well he just closed his eyes behind his mask and took a mental sigh of relief._

_When it was only himself, Jiraiya and the Third left, Jiraiya turned his frustration on his former sensei. _

"_So, Old Man, how you going to keep that at bay? After everything Minato did, it's like a damn slap in the face." _

"_You must remember Jiraiya, not everyone knew about Kushina and Minato." Sandaime replied. "They only saw a pregnant woman who gave up her child for the greater good of the village. They do not know that he is Minato's." _

"_Fuck this…" Jiraiya flung up his hands and turned towards the windows. "Come on, Kid, I need a drink."_

_Sandaime waved them off and Kakashi followed Jiraiya towards the bars. He remained silent and watchful, seeing all the sorrowful people mourning in the streets around him. He almost wanted to join them, but rules dictated that he didn't so he just followed along like any other ANBU escort would. _

_They arrived finally at the one place still open and serving. Jiraiya sat down and began ordering. Kakashi sat next to him and glanced around at the patrons who were doing exactly what he knew Jiraiya was going to try to do, drown their sorrow in sake. _

"_Take off the damn mask, Kakashi." Jiraiya growled as he began to pour his sake. "Both of them." He ordered just as Kakashi pushed his dog mask atop his head. He sighed heavily and pulled down his face mask and glared daggers at the old man. _

_They sat like that for a long time, Jiraiya leaning heavily on his propped up arm, downing dish after dish of sake while Kakashi watched. He began to wonder if this is what Sakumo and Jiraiya did all those years ago. They sounded jovial and laughed at one another, but really they were just trying to drown the toll being a ninja had been on both of them. _

_After he was sufficiently drunk Jiraiya's demeanor changed and he kept eyes on the younger ANBU captain keeping him company. _

"_I can't do this Kakashi…" he said finally and Kakashi looked over to see the far away gaze Jiraiya had, staring straight through him at nothing in particular. "First Sakumo…then Obitio and Rin…now Minato…hell no one knows where Tsunade is, she might as well be dead." He paused and poured another round, only this time he pushed it towards Kakashi. "I can't look at that kid and not see Minato. I just can't." _

_Kakashi understood it. Minato had named Jiraiya as Naruto's Godfather. He hesitantly looked at the dish in front of him, then back up to Jiraiya. _

"_Oh for the love of…you're an ANBU just drink it already. I'm sure this is no walk in the park for you either." Jiraiya turned away and poured himself another dish of the liquid. Kakashi downed the dish, alcohol burning as it cut a path down his throat. _

"_What the hell happened to our family, Kid?" _

_Kakashi took the bottle and poured for himself this time. He shook his head and mimicked the Sannin. "I don't know Jiraiya-sama." _

"_Just like your damn father." Jiraiya snorted and hung his head. "He'd be damn proud of you, you know. Minato was, hell Minato would be thankful too. You might have just saved his son's life." _

Kakashi wasn't so sure that his sensei would be thankful if he knew half of what Naruto had been through growing up.

Jiraiya had left the village shortly after that night and didn't return like he normally did. Kakashi had always wondered what it would take to break a Sannin's resolve and apparently it was watching his prized student throw his life away was what it took. Kakashi himself was one of the few ANBU that took up keeping an eye out for the boy during his off time, and what he would see he just couldn't bear it anymore so he retired from ANBU and took up doing S-Rank after S-Rank Mission. Anything to be blissfully ignorant of the outcome of his sensei's sacrifice was how he saw it. Still it shammed him to no end that he had taken the easy way out…just like Jiraiya had.

Then again who was to say that his childhood hadn't shaped Naruto in someway? Naruto was never one to berate or belittle others, like he had been. He was never one to overpower another just because he could… He was still an innocent; he'd yet to be tainted by the evils of the world no matter how much they had tried to break him before now.

When the Third had approached Kakashi with yet another Genin team, he had been livid. Just because he was Jonin did not mean he had to take up the mantle of 'sensei'. That title was permanently reserved for Minato; he didn't feel right taking up the title just to appease the older man's attempts to keep him from becoming solitary.

Then he saw the names. Then he was absolutely annoyed. Haruno had held little interest to him at first and he had ticked her off as just another Genin. But Uchiha and Uzumaki, that was just a sucker punch to the gut. For a long time he had sat outside the Genin's room, listening to them bicker. He inwardly prepared himself to fail another team of Genin and send them flying back to the academy; shamed that he would be doing so to the relative of his dead friend, and the son of his dead sensei.

But they had surprised him. Naruto more than Sasuke, who for all outward appearances of being the dumbest of the lot of Genin, definitely showed some intelligence and had very nearly eaten their lunches without him knowing. If Sasuke had been more of a challenge at first Naruto most likely would have gotten away with it. The fact that he could do Shadow Clones was even more astonishing. Sasuke himself was able to perform his Clan's preferred jutsu.

Yet they were all failing the test.

Till Sasuke, the stuck up Last of the Uchiha, selflessly offered to feed Naruto some of his own lunch to help better the team. Sakura did so only to mimic her obsession but the concept was now in their heads. Maybe he could take up the mantle handed down from Sandaime to Jiraiya to Minato to him.

He never regretted passing the three and taking them on as students. When he had been asked about entering the three in the Chuunin exams that first time he hadn't hesitated at all and threw all three in, knowing damn well they could swim. They maybe wouldn't attain Chuunin rank but they would come to better understand what that increase in rank meant. They would learn from the experience.

He hadn't expected two of the three of them to make it to the final rounds at all. Or for Orochimaru to mark Sasuke…and it was because of that mark that he had showed preference to Sasuke over Naruto during the month that the two had to prepare for the finals. Sasuke had to learn how to control the curse mark, and Naruto, as he had seen it then, had been doomed the moment he drew Neji's name for the first round.

Instead Naruto had done above and beyond what anyone had expected of him.

"_It was Naruto." _

_The whispered admittance from Sasuke when Kakashi had finally tracked all three of his Genin down at the hospital had caught him off guard. Kakashi stopped and looked down at the boy, waiting for him to continue, and sure enough, the Uchiha did continue to talk. _

"_I tried to use Chidori one more time and you were right." Sasuke ducked his gaze and Kakashi caught the millisecond that his eyes looked back at his offending shoulder. He wondered if Sasuke has drawn upon the curse mark to get one more charge out of the technique he had taught him. "Naruto defeated that Sand Freak. He summoned some huge frog out of nowhere after the guy started turning into this raccoon dog type…thing." _

_Kakashi had gone rigid at the mention of the word 'frog'. It wasn't possible was it? "Are you sure it wasn't a toad?" _

"_There's a difference?" Sasuke snuffed in return that annoyed tone returning to his speech. _

"_Yes there is. What did this 'frog' look like?" _

"_Huge. He was red, smoked a pipe." Sasuke's brow furrowed a little bit as he thought about the appearance of the frog. _

"_No one else was around?" _

"_No. Just Sakura, me, and that dog of yours." _

_Well that theory was out, what other explanation was there for the appearance of a Toad summons?_

"_I think the smaller frog, the summoning he screwed up, called him Gama-something." Sasuke offered up. _

"_Gamabunta." Kakashi whispered out into the room. _

"_Yeah that sounds right. When did you teach him to do that?" Sasuke was peering up at him, a slight tone of jealousy. It told Kakashi that perhaps he thought that the Jonin did not tell him everything about the agreement they had before the Chuunin exams. _

"_I didn't." Kakashi pushed himself off of the doorway frame he had been using as a prop up till then. "Naruto still here?" _

"_I think so." _

_Kakashi gave a half wave and walked away. He walked through the halls and finally found out which room Naruto had been tucked away in. He stepped into the half darkened room and sure enough found the #1 Hyperactive Ninja curled up unconscious, appearing half dead to the world. _

_As he drew closer he could see the patches on the kid's face and arms. Ever so often his face would scrunch up as if he was watching something he didn't like. Sasuke had been right at the beginning of his tale; Naruto had used way too much chakra and was now paying the cost for it. _

_But it didn't make sense because he had watched Naruto create Shadow Clone after Shadow Clone and never saw him tire from it. He didn't know many other chakra-intensive jutsu so where had he drained it all? _

"_Well, well, well…" a quiet chuckle broke his thinking pattern and he turned his eye towards the window frame. "For once I'm coming here and you're not the one laid up." _

"_Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi greeted mildly, trying to hide his shock at seeing the white-haired man after twelve years. "Been a long time." _

"_Sure has, Kid. Sure has." Jiraiya came the rest of the way into the room and looked down at the blonde for a moment. "Let me guess. The runt's one of yours?" _

"_Hai" _

_Jiraiya snorted and laughed at the Jonin, which caused Kakashi to raise his eyebrow. "What are you doing back?" _

"_Why else do I come back?" Jiraiya crossed his arms in front of him and frowned as he watched the kid sleep. "Research." _

"_And yet my other Genin, Uchiha Sasuke, tells me that Naruto summoned a very large 'frog'." Kakashi took a side-long glance at the Sannin and saw a ghost of the mischievous smirk Jiraiya was known for. "I wonder how that came about." _

"_I might have had something to do with that. Who'd he summon?" _

"_The way Sasuke tells it he summoned Gamabunta." _

"_Damn, again?" Jiraiya was looking between them both. "Guess Gamabunta really likes the kid if he keeps coming when he's called." _

"_Again?" _

"_Ah, the first time he got the summoning jutsu down right he summoned Gamabunta, who was none too pleased about that." _

"_Why were you really here?" _

"_I told you, you brat, research." Jiraiya whacked him in the head playfully. "You want more of those books, I have to research. Then Ebisu was flying at me and I had to take drastic measures to avoid detection." _

"_Let me guess, he was training Naruto at the time?" _

"_He was trying to. Did you realize that Orochimaru put a seal on Naruto before sending him out with that guy or are both of you completely oblivious?" Kakashi blinked and looked back to Naruto, still sleeping, before shaking his head at Jiraiya. "I thought you were able to do sealing jutsu by now…"_

"_I'm no seal master." _

"_Obviously." Jiraiya snorted. "That rat put a 5-pronged seal atop the 8-pronged seal the 4__th__ did. It was interrupting his chakra flow, thus why he was having problems with what Ebisu was trying to show him." _

_They stood in silence for a long time just standing at the foot of the bed arms crossed in front of themselves in the semi-darkness of the hospital room. It was a while before Jiraiya, it was always Jiraiya, broke the silence. "If it makes you feel any better about the whole seal thing, I threw him off that cliff outside of town. The really jagged one…" _

"_You did what?" Kakashi couldn't really help the surprised tone in his voice as he turned his gaze to Jiraiya who was snickering happily to himself. He knew which cliff he was speaking of, and he knew if pushed at the right speed Naruto would have a hard time grasping the cliff walls in a dead free-fall. _

"_I threw him off a cliff." Jiraiya was laughing in earnest now. His laughter continued and Kakashi shook his head trying to understand the Sannin's reasoning since he wasn't forthcoming with it. _

"_Minato-sensei is watching us and he's cursing us both to hell." Kakashi groaned and rubbed at his nose. _

"_Nah…he's probably getting a good laugh out of it." _

All thoughts from that point forward dealt with Akatsuki. Jiraiya began to show up in his odd pattern that he once used when dealing with the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Eventually Sasuke gave in to the call of power and left the village looking for Orochimaru.

It might have been inevitable just like Orochimaru had told him and it seemed his three students were following a much different path…the path of the Sannin…as Naruto went off with Jiraiya and Sakura pleaded with the Fifth Hokage. Sasuke was with Orochimaru, his time was done. He'd done what he could and now they weren't his 'kids' anymore.

He returned to his routine of S-Rank after S-Rank. Duty mixed with intermittent down times, where he would search the village for some sort of distraction. Might Gai was proving to be more annoying as of late, with his ever present shadow clone called Rock Lee, but in a ways he didn't mind the company.

He didn't mind the missions so much either. That's what he was trained…raised…to do. He was a shinobi through and through. Still it was awfully quiet without the three Genin around.

2 years later he saw just why Jiraiya had taken an interest in Naruto's training. Why Tsunade had been more than willing to take Sakura under her wing. Both of them had made up for their lack of experience and now he had to use his sharingan to keep up with them both. Sakura was not just some Genin anymore…she was downright scary. Naruto had gotten much faster and he had a hard time keeping track of his clones and their uses.

Jiraiya had merely chuckled and clamped him on the shoulder when he complained about Naruto's improvements.

Kakashi finally landed quietly on the outside path that lead around one of the more run down apartment complexes and leaned up against a wall next to the window he had found. Inside he couldn't hear much movement but he knew the occupant was home. The window was open and every so often he heard just the slightest of snuffs and curses coming from inside.

He finally peeked in and found Naruto, sitting at the head of his bed, knees drawn up and his arms hanging limply from his propped up knees. Every so often his body would move in an odd sort of sob, then he would curse at himself and go back to just sitting motionless. Kakashi stepped inside and over the bed at the base of the window. He saw Naruto's eyes peer at him over his arms, bloodshot and red-rimmed but he ignored it and just sat on the floor, head gazing up at the cracked ceiling above him.

Jiraiya had done exactly what he had done for Kakashi for Naruto, only in a more involved sense of things. He had replaced the father Kakashi had lost and Naruto had never had, and now he was gone. For Naruto, this was an entirely new wound that he hadn't yet acquired; the death of someone close…very close…to him.

Kakashi sighed a little and continued to study each and every crack he found in the off white ceiling above him. And the last conversation he had with the older, imposing Sannin filtered through his memory….

"_Ah, here you are Kid. Was hoping you were still in town." _

_Jiraiya-sama." He waved a little, happily reading his gift from Naruto for the 3__rd__ time through. It was always more enjoyable the more you read it, as he had found, and each book deserved a lot of attention. "Headed out?" _

"_I am." Jiraiya fell in step beside him. The silence, as always, was one they were both used to by now, but as always Jiraiya kept his record perfect by breaking it up. "I've got a favor to ask of you, Kid." _

"_Oh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow and seeing the serious face that he hardly ever saw set in Jiraiya's features he shut his prized book and tucked it away for later. _

_Jiraiya was looking up at the clouds, frowning as they went along. "I've got some business to take care of in one of the northern countries. If I don't make it back here…I want you to promise me something."_

_Kakashi cocked his head to the side and studied the Sannin. This was an awfully contemplative mood for him. Usually he would be self-assured of whatever he had set out to do. Kakashi mentally arranged all the countries, trying to figure out where it was Jiraiya was headed and it clicked in place, he was headed for Rain. _

"_You always were a quick one, Kid." Jiraiya smirked a little. "Don't look at me like that; I already heard it all from Tsunade. I even got her to bet against me, to help pad my odds a little."_

"_That's cruel, Jiraiya-sama. Making Hokage-sama make such a bet." _

"_Yeah, I know." Jiraiya scoffed then continued to smirk as he watched the clouds. "Anyways about that favor." _

"_Naruto-kun, hai, hai, no need to worry about that." _

"_No, you made that promise a long time ago. I want you to do something else." _

_Kakashi waited for the infamous pervert to finally get it out of his system but he found that they were now standing at the memorial stone. He mentally checked off all three of the names he knew were engraved upon its smooth surface as always added one more to that list. _

"_I want you to tell him the truth, Kakashi." Jiraiya finally said after Kakashi had finished reading off names inside of his head. Kakashi glanced over and saw that Jiraiya was dead serious about what he was asking Kakashi to do. He blinked a few times and drew his eye back to one of his names. The fact that Jiraiya had called him 'Kakashi' instead of 'Kid' betrayed his seriousness as well. _

"_That's asking quite a lot Jiraiya-sama. Are you sure that the Hokage, the elders would approve such a thing?" _

"_Who gives a damn what they approve." Jiraiya frowned and he too stared at the stone. "He deserves to know." _

"_Why not tell him yourself?" _

"_Because if he catches whiff of what I'm about to do, you and I both know he'll find someway to follow me. He'll think something's up if I just bring this outta left field." _

_Kakashi nodded, it made sense but still it had to be him? "Why not Tsunade-sama?" _

"_Because we're family, Kid," Jiraiya finally replied and hung his head. "It should be one of us." _

_Kakashi nodded his agreement, pulling his book back out to occupy the busy half of his brain, putting together all the things that could go wrong in all of this. He laughed mentally and reassured himself that this was Jiraiya of all people, if anyone could pull off recon inside of Rain that it had to be him. This was just for show, so why not promise him something to be at ease._

_He stiffened when Jiraiya's hand landed in his mop of hair and ruffled a bit. Despite being much older now he had never quite gotten as tall as Jiraiya. _

"_Why didn't you ever grow a ponytail?" _

_It was the oddest thing he had ever heard come out of Jiraiya's mouth but he didn't miss a beat and smirked right back at the Sannin. "Because you would have started calling me Sakumo if I had." _

_Jiraiya laughed and laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "I think I slipped a few times anyway." _

"_You were really drunk at the time, if I remember correctly." _

Kakashi glanced back at Naruto, who was curiously peering at him over his arms still. The look of new tears had appeared but Naruto seemed more angry than sad at this time. It probably was because Kakashi was invading his space when he wanted to be left alone.

"It's kind of odd isn't it?" He said quietly, going back to counting cracks in the ceiling. "To think we'll never see him again…"

He heard a small snuffle from Naruto and felt the weight of the bed shift behind him. The boy was now sitting cross-legged and staring at him. He glanced back up and smirked ruefully at the teenager, his eye scrunching up a little.

"Tsunade sent you?" Naruto's voice was hoarse from earlier, when he probably had been crying in much more earnest than he was now.

"No," he shook his head. He kept his promises much like Jiraiya had done and Naruto always did. "I'm here because we're family, Naruto."

Naruto's' face scrunched up in confusion and his head cocked to one side as they looked at one another.

"I've known Jiraiya-sama since I was about 4 years old Naruto." Kakashi elaborated. "He took it upon himself to keep an eye out on me when my father died….kinda like he kept an eye out for you." Kakashi turned his eye away now and remembered all those times before and realized that yes, they were family.

"And because of the 4th?"

The silent question caught Kakashi off-guard. He turned back around and looked up at Naruto who was keeping his gaze away from Kakashi. Was it more innocent and he thought because the 4th had sealed the fox in him that Kakashi had inherited his sensei's problem or did he actually know the truth already and just hadn't brought it up to anyone?

"What do you mean?"

Naruto got an odd smile on his face, even though it looked tortured. "I mean are you here because he couldn't tell me?"

"So you already know?" Kakashi wondered if Jiraiya would have guessed Naruto could figure it out on his own. He knew he hadn't really thought about the possibility of it and neither had the Sandaime when he had decided to keep that truth from Naruto and the village all those years ago.

"He kept slipping up." Naruto shrugged and wiped angrily at his face. "When he'd be really drunk…he'd come back to the hotel and act surprised that I was there, he'd call me Minato."

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh. He stood and sat himself on the bed. "I think it was his way of making sure we never forgot them."

"He did it do you to, huh?"

"Yes." Kakashi really did have to smile at the thought of Jiraiya constantly getting father and son confused, but then again both he and Naruto did look exactly like their fathers. It was easy to make the mistake. Or it wasn't a mistake at all, maybe Jiraiya just liked to remind him of Sakumo from time to time. Maybe he was trying to prod Naruto to his own realization, which it had. "So you're not angry?"

"Why would I be?" Naruto shrugged. "He did what he had to do. Both of them did." He hid his head and Kakashi knew he meant both Minato and Jiraiya, even if it did hurt to realize it.

Silence. Kakashi just sat there; sure this was all that Naruto really needed was just for someone to sit there. Not to talk, not to prod, just to be a presence. But then Naruto continued Jiraiya's tradition.

He broke the silence.

"So, you knew the Perv back when you were a kid?"


End file.
